Torn (A Vampire Academy Fanfiction)
by ivashkovodairology
Summary: Rose Hathaway is a brave Dhampir who will do anything and everything to protect her best friend, Lissa Dragomir. But what will happen when the love of her life, Dimitri, leaves her to go to Russia? And what will happen with Adrian Ivashkov, the infamous womanizer steps into her life? Will she learn to love him with Eddie and Mason there, also trying to get her? Warning: Swearing
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does. **

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Rose's POV

I walked up the steps to the porch, shaking the snow off my boots as i did. A thick scent, both spicy and sweet, hung in the air. Something about it felt familiar, but before I could identify it, a voice suddenly spoke to me out of the shadows.

"Hey, little dhampir."

Startled, I realized someone was standing on the porch. A tall guy - a Moroi - leaned against the wall not far from the door. He brought a cigarette up to his mouth, took a long drag, and then dropped it to the ground. He put it out with his foot and gave a crooked smile at me. That was the scent, I realized. Clove cigarettes. Cautiously, I stopped and crossed my arms as I took him in. He was a little shorter than Dimitri but wasn't as lanky as some Moroi guys. A long, charcoal coat - probably made out of some insanely cashmere-wool blend - fit his body exceptionally well, and the leather dress shoes he wore indicated that he was practically made out of money. He had silky brown hair that looked like it had been purposely styled to appear a little unkempt, and his eyes were either blue or green - the dim light was not enough for me to know for sure. His face was cute, I guess. I pegged him to be a couple years older than me but younger than Dimitri. From his entire outfit, I think he just came from a dinner party.

"Yes?" I asked, my tone clearly unwelcome.

His eyes swept over my body. I was used to the attention given from Moroi guys. I was curry and more filled compared to the tall, skinny, model-like Moroi girls. But it was usually not so obvious. And I usually wasn't bundled up in winter clothing and sporting a black eye either.

He shrugged. "Just saying hi, that's all."

I waited for more, but all he did was stuff his hands into his pockets. With a shrug of my own, I took a couple steps forward.

"You smell good." He says abruptly.

I stopped walking again and gave him a puzzled look, which ply made his sly smile grow bigger.

"I… um, what?"

"You smell good," he repeated.

"Are you joking? I've been sweating all day. I'm disgusting." I wanted to walk away from him and go to my room that I share with Lissa to shower, but there was something eerily compelling about this guy. I didn't find him that attractive, okay maybe he was kinda hot. Hot? Knock it off Rose. I guess I was just suddenly interested in talking to him.

"Sweat isn't a bad thing," he says, leaning his head against the wall and looking upward thoughtfully. "Some of the best things in life happen while sweating," he continued, with a smug smirk occupying his face. "Yeah, if you get too much of it and it gets old and stale, then it turns pretty gross. But on a beautiful woman? Intoxicating. If you could smell things a vampire does, you'd know what I'm talking about. Most people mess it all up and drown themselves in perfume. Perfume can be good… especially if you get one that goes with your chemistry. But you only need a hint. Mix about 20 percent of that with 80 percent of your own perspiration… mmm." He tilted his head to the side and looked at me.

"Dead sexy."

What the hell? Why is this guy giving me a hygiene lesson? I suddenly remembered Dimitri and his aftershave. That had been dead sexy, but I certainly wasn't going to tell this guy about it.

"Well, thanks for the hygiene lesson, but I don't own any perfume, and I'm going to go shower all this hot sweaty action off me. Sorry," I say.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered it to me. He moved a step closer, but it was enough for me to smell something else on him. Alcohol. I shook my head at the cigarettes, and he taped one out for himself.

"Bad habit?" I asked, watching him light it.

"One of many," he replied. He inhaled deeply. "You here with St. Vlad's?"

"Yup."

"Ah, high school girl. So you're going to be a guardian when you grow up."

"Obviously."

He exhaled smoke, and I watched it drift away into the darkness of the night. Heightened vampire senses or no, it was a wonder he could smell anything around those cloves.

"How long until you grow up?" he asked. "I might need a guardian," he says suggestively.

"I graduate in the spring. But I'm already spoken for." I say, contemplating if I should say sorry, but then again why should I be sorry for not being able to be this strangers guardian compared to Lissa, my best friend?

Surprise flickered in his eyes. "Yeah? Who's the lucky guy?"

"_She's _Vasilisa Dragomir."

His face brightened up with recognition. "Ah." A huge grin plastered on his face. "I knew you were trouble as soon as I saw you. You're Janine Hathaway's daughter."

"I'm Rose Hathaway," I corrected, no wanting to be defined by my mother.

"Adrian Ivashkov," he tells me, extending a gloved hand to me, which I hesitantly took.

"And you think _I'm_ trouble," I muttered. The Ivashkovs were a royal family, one of the wealthiest and most powerful royal families in the Moroi and Dhampir society. They were the kind of people who though they could get anything they wanted and walk over those in their way. No wonder he was so arrogant.

He laughed. He had a nice laugh, rich and almost melodious. It made me think of warm caramel, dripping from a spoon. "Well, Each of our reputations precedes us."

I shook my head. "You don't know anything about me. I only know of your family. I don't know anything about_ you._"

"You want to?" He asked tauntingly.

"I'm not into older guys." Bullshit.

"I'm twenty. Not that much older."

"I have a boyfriend." It was a small lie. I don't think I could call Mason my boyfriend _yet_, but I hoped Adrian would leave me alone if he thought I was taken.

"Funny you didn't mention that right away," Adrian mused. "He didn't give you that black eye, did he?"

I felt the warm blush creep onto my cheeks, even in the cold. I'd been hoping he wouldn't notice the eye, which was stupid. With his vampire eyes, he'd probably noticed as soon as I stepped onto the porch.

"He wouldn't be alive if he did. I got it during … practice. I mean, I'm training to be a guardian. Our classes are always rough."

"That's pretty hot," he says taking a step to decrease the distance between us. He dropped his second cigarette to the ground and put it out with his foot.

"Punching me in the eye?"

"Well, no. Of course not. I meant that the idea of getting rough with you is hot. I'm a big fan of full contact sports." He says, a smug smirk making it's way onto his face.

"I don't doubt it," I say dryly. He was arrogant and presumptuous, yet there was something forcing or luring me to be in his presence.

The sound of footsteps behind me made me turn. Mia came around the path and walked up the steps. When she was us, she suddenly stop.

"Great," I muttered. "Hey Mia."

She glanced between the two of us.

"_Another_ guy?" she asked. From her tone, you would have assumed I had my own harem of men.

Adrian gave me a questioning, but amused look. I gritted my teeth and decided not to dignify that with a response. I opted for uncharacteristic politeness.

"Mia, this is Adrian Ivashkov."

Adrian turned on the same charm he;d used on me. He shook her hand. "Always a pleasure to meet a friend of Rose's." He spoke as if he and I had known each other since childhood.

"We aren't friends." I hissed. So much for politeness.

"Rose only hangs out with guys and psychopaths," states Mia. Her voice carried the usual scorn she harboured for me, but there was a look on her face that showed Adrian had clearly caught her interest.

"Well," he says cheerfully, "since I'm both of those things, that would explain why we're such good friends."

"You and I aren't friends either," I tell him.

"Always playing hard to get, huh little dhampir?" Adrian says, chuckling.

"She's not that hard to get." Mia says, clearly upset that Adrian's paying more attention to me. "Just ask half the guys at our school."

"Yeah," I retorted, "and you can ask the other half about Mia. If you can do a favour for her, she'll do _lots_ of favours for you." When she'd declared war on Lissa and me, Mia had managed to get a couple of guys to tell everyone that I had done some pretty sexual things with them. The ironic thing was that she'd gotten them to lie for her by sleeping with herself.

A flicker of embarrassment passed over her face, but she held her ground.

"Well, at least I don't do them for free." She says, defending herself. I turn my head to see Adrian making some cat noises. Real mature.

"Are you done?" I ask her. "It's past your bedtime, and the grown ups would like to talk now." I tell her, aiming at her childish looks.

Mia's youthful looks were a sore point with her, one I frequently enjoyed exploiting.

"Yeah, yeah," she says crisply. Her cheeks turned pink, intensifying her porcelain-doll appearance. "I have better things to do anyway." She says, turning towards the door, then paused with her hand resting on the doorknob. She glanced towards Adrian. "Her mom gave her that black eye, you know." Wow, low blow.

She went inside. The fancy glass doors swung shut behind her. Leaving Adrian and I standing there in silence.

"Your mom?"

"Oh shut up."

"You're one of those people who either has soul mates or mortal enemies, aren't you? No in-between. You and Vasilisa are probably like sisters, huh?"

"I guess."

"How is she?" What is he doing asking about her?

"What do you mean?" I ask him, getting defensive. So that's what all the flirting was for. To get to Lissa.

He shrugged, and if I didn't know better, I'd say that he was overdoing his casualness. "I don't know. I mean, I know you guys ran away… and there was stuff with her family and Victor Dashkov…"

I feel myself flinch at the mention of Victor.

"So?

"Dunno. Just figured it might be a lot for her to, you know, handle."

I studied him carefully, wondering what he was getting at. I decided avoidance was the best tactic just now.

"I've got to go."

"Are you sure?" He sounded only mildly disappointed. Mostly he seemed as cocky and amused as before. Something about him still intrigued me, but whatever it was, it wasn't enough to combat everything I was feeling, or to risk discussing Lissa. "I thought it was time for the grown up to talk. Lots of grown up things I'd like to talk about." He says, hinting on something.

"It's late, I'm tired, and your cigarettes are giving me a headache," I growl.

"I suppose that's fair. Some women think they make me look sexy."

"Yeah, well those women are either blind or they have breathing problems. I think you smoke them so you have something to do while thinking up your next witty line."

He choked, laughing at my witty remark. "Rose Hathaway, I can't wait to see you again. If you're this charming while tired and annoyed and this gorgeous while bruised and in ski clothes, you must be devastating at your peak.

"If by 'devastating' you mean that you should fear for your life, then yeah. You're right." I jerked open the door. "Good night, Adrian."

"Hey wait up! I'll walk you to your room." He says, grabbing my wrist. I feel a small jolt of electricity from his touch but quickly release myself from his grip.

"No need. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself." I reassure him and continue on walking. I hear his footsteps, indicating that he was still following me.

"Is there something you want?" I ask him, exasperated.

"Other than you? Nothing." He says, winking at me. "Look, nothing you say will get me to walk away. Like it or not, I'm walking you to your room. And I'm pretty persistent when I want to be so no use in arguing." I sigh in frustration, what does this guy want from me?

"Fine, come on then. But try anything and you'll lose an arm." I tell him. He chuckles and nods his head, clearly amused.

"So, little dhampir. What caused your mom to give you that black eye?"

"I told you, we were training and she messed up her target." I tell him, but I knew she didn't 'mess up'. She the 'great Janine Hathaway', she couldn't mess up. Or at least she couldn't mess up this bad.

"But she's Janine Hathaway." He says, thinking the same thing I was. He shook his head in disapproval. "Are you sure she messed up? Maybe you weren't quick enough to dodge the punch. As far as this shows, I could probably take you down!" He says, trying to lighten up the mood.

Is he serious? He's delusional. Okay, maybe he was taller than me and people would categorize me as 'petite', but I had guardian training and Adrian, well he had servants doing whatever he wanted since he was a kid.

"In your dreams." I tells him dismissively. Taking that as a challenge, he brings me down and holds my hands down, using his elbows so that he doesn't crush me with his weight. He has a grin plastered on his face, clearly proud that he won. In a flash, I flip us over and straddle his waist and pin him to the ground, my hands gripping on his so that he couldn't flip us over.

"Better luck next time."

"So there'll be a next time huh?"

I roll my eyes and a thought comes to mind. I lean in so that my mouth is completely align with his ear, my breaths making him shudder. "In your dreams, Ivashkov." I say with a seductive voice. I hear him moan and I pull back just a bit to see his face.

"With this position, I'm sure I'll be dreaming about this." He says lowly. Just as I'm about to give him a sarcastic remark, I hear someone gasp. I turn my head to see Mason there gaping at the sight in front of him. I clear my throat and get up, Adrian soon following behind.

"Mason, it's not what-" I tell him, afraid that he'll assume something else.

"It's fine, Rose." He says, cutting me off. I look curiously at him and walk towards him. I intertwine my hands with his, seeing Mason surprised for a second but then welcomes it.

"Adrian, this is my _boyfriend_. Mason Ashford." I tell Adrian. I see Mason's eyebrows raised when I said he was my boyfriend, but smiles proudly. "Mason, this is Adrian Ivashkov." Adrian looks dumbfounded but then smiles and shakes Mason's hand. Mason just has his lips in a firm line and stares at Adrian.

"So this is the lucky guy. Some girl you have there." Adrian says, taking me off guard. Never thought he would say that.

"Yeah, I'm very lucky." Mason says, slipping his arm around my waist, pulling me closer and kissing my hair.

"Well, I should be going. See you later little dhampir. Mason." He says, nodding at us. Mason nods back and I smile. When Adrian's body disappears along the halls, I free myself from Mason's grip and looked at him curiously.

"So…" he starts off awkwardly, "boyfriend huh?" he says suggestively, waggling his eyebrows. I laugh and punch his shoulder playfully.

"Nice try, Ashford. I said that just so Adrian would go away."

"AHA I HEARD THAT!" I hear Adrian shout. Dammit he found out.

"By what I saw before you guys saw me, it looks like you didn't want him to go away." He says, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms in front of his chest, looking like a kid who lost his favourite toy.

"Oh, is someone jealous?" I said, taunting him.

"Every guy who gets to make you smile makes me jealous. You know you have that power over me, Rosie Posie." I glare at him when he mentions his nickname which I hated, but smile and hug him. Dimitri already moved on, so should I.

"Nobody can replace you, you know that." I whisper, kissing his cheek but not releasing him from my hug. I wasn't lying, even though I do love Dimitri, which I am trying to move on, nobody can ever replace Mason. I hear Mason sigh and hug me back, burying his face in my hair causing me to giggle.

"I know, I just-"

"It's okay Mase. Let's just go before Lissa worries too much." Hearing me say that, Mason's eye bulge and he practically runs, tugging at my hand. I laugh and jog to my room that I share with Lissa, where I find Lissa, Christian and Eddie sitting on the floor.

"There you are! I was almost going to get Christian and Eddie to go search for you." Lissa exclaims, hugging me.

"Calm down Liss. I was just walking around the ski lodge."

"Really, because from what I've heard, you were with Adrian Ivashkov." She says, almost accusingly to me. Here we go.

"He's got a bad reputation," warned Lissa.

"Yeah," said Christian. "He goes through a lot of girls."

"Will you guys lay off? I barely know him!"

"So you do know him!" Eddie joins in, to which I glare at him.

"I talked to him for like 10 minutes! And that's only because he was blocking my way inside and he walked me back but when Mason showed up, I ditched him for Mason." I tell them.

"Mason? You knew about this?" Lissa exclaimed, pointing a finger at Mason.

"Um, yeah. Rose introduced me to him. Which reminds me, why were you guys in that position when I found you?"

"Position? I can already imagine Adrian all over you Rosie." Christian says until I punch him on the shoulder, earning a disapproving look from Lissa.

"What? He said he could beat me in a fight, and I just wanted to prove him wrong. No way could he beat a Hathaway. And Mase, I already pointed out that I didn't want anything to do with him." I tell him, raising my eyebrows suggestively while intertwining our fingers together.

"Oh no Rose, you can't sweet talk your way out of this." Masons says sternly, backing away from me so I just sigh in defeat.

"Honestly he was just blocking my way and when I went inside he insisted on walking me to my room. And when he mentioned that he could beat me in a fight, I dissed him but then he pounced and brought me down. So I pinned him on the ground and Mason came and I just went with him." I explain, inhaling after the explanation. After I see everyone nodding in consideration, my curiosity peaked.

"Who told you anyways?"

"Mia Renaldi." I hear Eddie say.

"Oh, since when do you hang out and believe with Mia?" I say defensively, they knew what Mia was doing to me and Lissa. What the hell were they doing talking to her?

"Mia told us and I thought it wasn't true but then I saw you. Doing whatever you were doing right in front of my eyes." Mason says, rolling his eyes. Whatever, let them think what they want to.

"Since you all are buddy-buddy with Mia, why don't you go to her room. I don't have time for this and I want to shower." I hiss, although I feel bad when I see Lissa's face in shock. I smile at her reassuringly, to tell her that I'm not mad at her. As for the boys, well they can piss off.

After showering, I feel so much more relaxed and calm. I get to the room to find it empty, with only Mason sitting on my bed. Huh, Lissa's probably sleeping at Christian's room for the night. I clear my throat which makes him turn around and look at his feet nervously. I walk and put down my towel down on the bed and just stand in front of him with my arms in front of my chest.

"Sorry I, uh, jumped all over you about Adrian earlier."

I grab his hand and give it a light squeeze. "It's okay. I know Mia can tell some pretty convincing stories. And with the way you found us, well it was hard to think otherwise."

"Yeah… but even if you were with him, it's not like I have any right…"

I stared at him, surprised to see his usual brash countenance turn shy. "No Mason. You do. You're my best friend and I know you're just looking out for me." I smile at him and stepped forward to embrace him."Thanks, for being a really good friend." I tell him. A huge smile was now plastered onto Mason's face and he kissed my hair one more time. I tried to stifle a yawn, but failed miserably. Chuckling, Mason brings me to my bed and lays down next to me, facing towards me.

"Go to sleep Rosie Posie, I'll fight of the bad dreams." He says, just in time for me to hear until I'm swallowed by the darkness.

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**AN: First chapter is up! Please review, it'll make my day! Sorry if it's a bit OOC, but yeah! Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Wake up Rose." I hear someone say, ugh can't anyone leave me alone for 5 minutes. I just groan in response and punch the person. "Come on Rosie." I feel my pillow move and I open my eye to see what was going on. What the hell? Why is my pillow moving? I grab my pillow to move it back but find myself touching something hard and warm. I open both my eyes and look to find my fingers grazing Mason's abs. I see Mason chuckling and pulling me towards him in a hug, making my head stay in the crooked of his neck. I guess he stayed to make sure I slept and finally dozed off with me. I just sighed and continued to sleep, until…

"Rose! Come on! It's a brand new day- oh." I hear Lissa end with a smirk on her face. Ugh, when will she stop match-making me with Mason. Mason's here just as a friendly, brotherly figure. Even though I had to admit his abs were hot, his body definitely wasn't as big and built as Dimitri's- stop Rose, he's moved on with Tasha.

"Hey Liss." I say flatly, rolling my eyes and getting out of bed. No use in trying to sleep when people are going to keep barging in.

"Sorry if I disturbed something." She says suggestively. I hear Mason chuckle and laugh, standing up to get his shirt that was on the floor. I finally see that he was shirtless and only in his boxers, whilst I was in a big t-shirt and some shorts.

"Nothing happened Lissa." I said, glaring at her playfully. Mason gets his shirt and pants on and comes to ruffle my hair, earning another glare and bids his goodbye to Lissa and goes out of our room.

"Shower and get dressed."

"Why? Where are we going now?" I say, groaning.

"Tasha's cabin." Ugh, Tasha. I don't need to see her right now, or ever. I've forgotten about that. Tasha was hosting our Christmas lunch, in her cabin. "Come on, it's christmas! We're going to be exchanging presents!" Lazily, I grab my towel and run in the bathroom to shower. I shower quickly and hear the door open, probably Pyro.

"Pyro! To what do I owe the honour?" I say sarcastically, putting on my shoes. Christian laughs sarcastically and pecks Lissa's cheek.

"Come on, Aunt Tasha's requesting you both."

"Do I have to go? Can't you both go while I stay here and sleep?" I begged Lissa.

"Aw, is Rosie having a bad day?" I hear Christian taunt me.

"Yeah, it started when you showed your ugly face around here." I say, glaring at him.

"Can't you both just be nice around each other for once?" I hear Lissa plead, and I sigh and force a smile. "Why don't we get Mason to come, so that you won't be lonely. Maybe you would act nicer with him around, huh?" I hear Lissa suggest, raising her eyebrow suggestively. Hm, I guess Mason would take my mind off of things. I nod, finally agreeing to her and we went to pick up Mason.

We make our way to Tasha's cabin at the outskirts of the ski lodge. The place was warm because of the heat from the lit fireplace. I find Dimitri there with some hot cocoa with Tasha next to him, laughing. Just great. Oh how I love today.

"Vasilisa! Rose! Come in, I'll get you some hot cocoa! Who's this?" Tasha exclaims, taking our coats as I smile politely.

"Oh it's just Lissa. This is Mason Ashford."

"Nice to meet you Mason, make yourself at home!" I sit down on the floor next to Mason and Lissa, which is unfortunately next to Dimitri. So it seems like Dimitri had been invited to the gathering. He actually dressed up for the occasion. Okay, maybe "dressed up" would be an exaggeration, but with Dimitri, it came closest that what I have ever seen him wear. He tied his dark hair at the back of his neck, wore usual jeans and leather boots and had a finely knit black sweater. It wasn't designer or expensive, but it was dressy, for Dimitri, and_ Jesus, did it fit him well_.

"Roza." I hear Dimitri say, while nodding his head. I just nod in response and focus my attention on Lissa. Dimitri didn't talk to me or try to make conversation with me, but talked to Tasha. I watched in fascination as they talked in that easy way of theirs. I was glad that I had Mason here to keep me company and to talk to me, when Dimitri was ignoring me and Lissa was talking to Christian. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't just using Mason for a distraction, I loved him. A lot. But only as a really close friend. I wasn't ready to make anything official between us, not with Dimitri still here.

Lissa finally broke away from her heated conversation to give me my Christmas present. I opened the box and stared inside. I saw a string of maroon-coloured beads, and the scent of roses floated out.

"What the hell…" I lifted the beads out, and a heavy gold crucifix swung from the end of them. She'd given me a _chotki. _It was similar to the rosary, only smaller - the size of a bracelet.

"Are you trying to convert me?" I asked wryly.

"Flip it over," she said, clearly amused at my shock. I did and on the back of the cross, a dragon wreathed in flowers had been carved onto the gold. The Dragomir crest. I looked up at her, puzzled.

"It's a family heirloom," she explained. "One of my dad's good friends has been saving boxes of his stuff. This was in it. It belonged to my great-grandmother's guardian." I had a few tears which were now threatening to spill. Keep your cool Hathaway.

"Liss…" I started. The chotki took on a whole new meaning. "I can't… you can't give me something like this."

"Well, I certainly can't keep it. It's meant for a guardian. My guardian. You, Rose." I wound the beads around one wrist. The cross felt cool against my now warm skin.

"You know, there's a good possibility I'll get kicked out of school before I can become your guardian." I teased her.

She grinned and hugged me. "Well, then you can give it back." Everyone laughed and Dimitri gave me a box, wrapped neatly in red. I gave him a suspicious glance and opened it, revealing a black top that I had admired when Lissa and I went shopping before the Equinox dance. I smiled and hugged Dimitri, not caring who saw. They probably think it's a friendly or mentor-student hug anyways. I hear Dimitri chuckle and I thanked him. I kinda feel bad now that I didn't give him anything. I give Lissa my present, a necklace that she was planning to buy when we were on the run, and gave Christian a button-up shirt. Tasha gave me a pretty silk dress, red and embroidered with flowers. I was just about to open Christian's present when the door flew open to reveal my mother.

"Janine, you finally came!" Tasha shouted, hugging my mother. My mother stood there, looking stiff and impassive as ever.

"Sorry I'm late."

She sat down with us and soon changed the topic of our conversation to, surprise surprise, guardian business. Mason, being the suck up he is, just asked her questions on how to decapitate and kill a Strigoi. I can't believe we were having this conversation on Christmas. I finally tried to ignore them and clear them out of my head whilst opening Christian's present. I opened it to find a pair of heels with a note, "So you wouldn't look like a midget the next time you go out with us." Ha-ha. Very funny Sparky. Deciding that I've had enough, I went outside to get some air, even though it was freezing out. She just had to come, didn't she? She basically ruined it. Everything was going on perfectly fine, to my surprise but she just had to come and ruin it. My thoughts were cut off when I hear a pair of footsteps coming my way. I turned around to see my mother, with her arms in front of her chest. She looked at me nervously and sighed. We just stayed there, staring at each other but not bothering to say a word.

"I've been wanting to talk to you," she finally said. What have I done now? I just rolled my eyes and waited impatiently. She extended her hand towards me, "here."

I leaned forward and held my palm out underneath hers. Something small and cool dropped into my hand. It was a round, small pendant. A base of silver held a flat disc of colour glass circles. The inner circle was small and dark blue, just like a pupil. Surrounding it was a larger circle of pale blue, which was surrounded by a circle of white.

"Thanks," I said. Why the hell would she give me an eye? "I… I didn't get you anything." My mom nodded "It's fine. I don't need anything." She said, looking down at her shoes. "You've grown so much. I've heard positive comments on your training." She said with a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Yeah, Dimitri's a hell of a mentor. He's been training me to the ground." I told her, hoping I didn't blush when mentioning Dimitri.

"_Guardian Belikov_ is an extraordinary guardian. Makes sense that he's been assigned to mentor you. It's a shame he's moving though." She said dismissively. Moving? Oh no you don't mother, finish what you started.

"What do you mean moving?"

"Tasha Ozera is Guardian Belikov's close friend. She's offered him to get assigned as her personal guardian. It hasn't been officially decided but I think he'll take up on the offer, seeing as the circumstances…" What the hell is this woman talking about? Why is he moving with that _bitch_? God, if I didn't hate her already, I would punch her face now.

"The circumstances? What circumstances?"

"Well, I think she wants to make a family with him. They have been rumoured to have quite a history. I think they would make a lovely couple and produce lovely children." A history? How come I've never heard about this before? Produce lovely children? Really? Before I was able to ask anymore questions, my mother breaks me from my thoughts.

"How's the eye?"

"Getting better."

"Look I'm sorry-"

"Rose! We're going to go now, do you- oh sorry Guardian Hathaway." Lissa said, cutting herself off when she saw my mother.

"It's okay Princess. I'll talk to you later Rosemarie." She said, nodding to me and Lissa before leaving. I sighed in relief, thank_ God_ that's over. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dimitri still talking to Tasha but was distracted when Mason pulled me away and started to walk away. Finally, Christian and Lissa went off to do their own thing and left me with Mason, on our way to the my room.

"So, I don't recall getting a present from you…" I hear Mason slur, pouting like a big baby. I laugh and stopped in a corner, pushing him on the wall. Mason was tall and muscular, a few inches taller than me but still shorter than Dimitri. Dammit, I _need_ to stop thinking about him. I snaked both my arms around his neck and made his face lower to mine and pushed my lips onto his. I heard a small hitching gasp come from Mason and then our mouths were pressed together with a sort of urgency. Mason was my medicine, to forget _him_. My lips left his and we both gasped for air, leaving him with a lazy grin on his face. He was still breathing heavily but I heard him whisper in my ear. "Thank you, that was the best Christmas present _ever_." I laughed and kissed his cheek and grabbed his hand to walk to my room that I share with Lissa.

"I have another present for you."

"Another!?" Mason exclaimed happily, I knew he was thinking dirty things so I smacked his shoulder.

"Pervert."

"You can't really blame me, can you?" He asked, which I just rolled my eyes at. I revealed a small box which had a frame with a picture of me and him at a party. I was on his shoulders laughing and he was grinning like a kid on Christmas. "I love it, thanks." He said, hugging me. "And for you, my dear friend…" he trailed off. He opened the door to my room which revealed a gorgeous black dress. It was short and strapless with a little sparkle to it but wasn't too short to get me called a bloodwhore. I hugged Mason and he spun me in the air like a kid, which set of a huge case of the giggles. "Thanks Mason, I love it. You're the best." I tell him, pecking him on the cheek. He had a proud smile on his face and he just kissed my hair in a friendly fashion before he left me to myself. Huh, today ended up oddly as a pretty good day, excluding Dimitri ignoring me, finding out that Dimitri was reassigning and the scene with my mother. It wasn't late yet and we already ate at Tasha's cabin for dinner so I finally decided to sleep, knowing that someone will wake me up early tomorrow. Just as my eyes slid shut, I surprisingly dreamed about Adrian Ivashkov.

I stood with him on the porch again, but this time it was summer. The air was balmy and warm, the sun hung bright in the sky, coating everything in a golden light. There was a light breeze, making my dark brown hair fly all over my face. Adrian leaned against the porch's' railing just like the other night, glanced over and did a double-take when he saw me.

"Oh. I didn't expect to see you here." He has his sly smile on his face. "I was right. You _are_ devastatingly breath-taking when you're cleaned up." By instinct,I touched the skin around my eye. "It's gone," he said just before I asked.

Oddly enough, I somehow knew he was right. I looked at him all over finding him in a white button up which had a few buttons open and some khaki shorts, all of what looked expensive, which was normal. He was only missing one thing. "You aren't smoking."

"Bad habit," he said. "So yesterday… I knew you didn't have a boyfriend. I suspected you just lying, especially when his eyes got wide when you intertwined your hands together." Dammit, he remembered.

"We aren't official yet." I hear his laugh, melodious and hearty as last night.

"Yeah, sure thing little dhampir."

I looked back up at Adrian, studying the way the sun shone off his brown hair. Here, in full daylight, I could see that his eyes were indeed green - a deep emerald, which quite frankly looked simply breathtaking and alluring. Sexy even. Something startling suddenly occurred to me.

"Doesn't all this sun bother you?"

He gave a lazy shrug. "Nah. My dream's my rules."

"It's _my_ dream." I countered.

"You sure?" His smile returned. He chuckled but a moment later, his laughter faded. For the first time since we've met, he looked serious. "Why do you have so much darkness around you?" What? I frowned and looked at him curiously. What did he mean? "You're surrounded in blackness." His eyes studied me shrewdly, but not in a checking-me-out like last night sort of way. "I've never seen anyone like you. Shadows everywhere. I never would have guessed it. Even while you're standing here, talking to me, the shadows keep growing." Is this guy insane? I looked down at my hands but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I glanced back up and looked at him, with a possible reason to what he claimed he saw.

"I'm shadow kissed."

"Shadow what? What does that mean?"

"I died once." I'd never talked to anyone other than Lissa and Victor Dashkov about this but it was a dream. None of it matters, it's not like he's going to magically know about it when I wake up. "And I came back."

Wonder and astonishment lit his face. "Interesting."

"What did you mean I have shadows around me?"

"I'll tell you when we meet, I have a feeling someone waking you up right-"and with that, I woke up.

Someone was shaking me. Lissa. Her feelings hit me like a hurricane. I pulled back into myself, trying to shift the terror and alarm coming from her feelings.

"Liss, calm down. What's wrong."

"It's Mason."

I felt my heart stop for a second and I jumped out of bed and was out of the room in a flash, and headed to the infirmary. I heard Lissa's footstep, desperately tying to match my pace, and I felt her tug my hand to a stop. "He's in his room." I turned right and went straight to his room with Lissa at my tail. I hope nothing happened. Okay, knowing Mason that's impossible. I hope nothing _really bad_ happened. I stopped in front of his room to find Eddie, his roommate and his best friends, a dhampir who I usually spar with from St. Vladimir's.

"Hey Rose. Try not to be _too_ noisy. I think he's still asleep."

"What happened?" I never even bothered to ask Lissa what happened before bolting out of our room to get here. Maybe I do care for him more than a brother.

"He went snowboarding and broke his ankle, _again_." When will he ever learn? Mason and I were so similar. We had a thirst for adventure and to prove ourselves to gain honour. Some might say it's a dhampir thing, similar with getting Mjolnir marks, but I've learned from one of many zen lessons from Dimitri that those marks aren't for the glory and honour, it also represents your past and the obstacles you've overcome, aside from other things. I nodded and knocked on the door lightly before coming in. Lissa touched my shoulder and said that she would wait here, giving me and Mason some space, which I was grateful for. I walked in and saw Mason asleep on his bed, looking a little pale with a cast on his right foot. I silently walked over and kneeled down on the floor next to his bed, caressing his face and playing with his red hair. I traced the freckles on his face, looking like grains of sand. He finally opened one eye and saw me, smiling at me.

"Hey Mase. Feeling better?"

He smiled and nodded his head, snuggling onto his bed. "Feeling better just as I saw your gorgeous face." I laughed lightly and rolled my eyes in disbelief. Injured or not, Mason still had the energy to flirt with me. Not that I minded, I love flirting with the guys back at St. Vlad's and I'm not gonna lie. They loved to flirt back with me.

"One second." I walked to the door and opened it, finding Lissa talking to Eddie. "He's awake. You guys can come in." Eddie nods and comes in with Lissa in tow. Which reminds me, where's lover boy? He's usually hanging around her wherever she went. "Where's Sparky?"

"With Tasha. She wanted to have dinner with him and Guardian Belikov." Of course, _Dimitri_ was invited. "She says Guardian Belikov and her are close friends and haven't met in a long time." Yeah, I've heard.

"Hey Lissa." Mason said, cutting our conversation.

"Hey!"

We spent the day at Mason's room, keeping him company, well Lissa and I were mostly gossiping but Mason and Eddie got to say a few things in between. I decided it was time to get back so Lissa and I said our goodbyes, leaving Mason and Eddie to go to our room. Just as we we're about to get in, a wave of aftershave hits my nostrils.

"Roza."

I look back to find the source of the strong smell of aftershave. _Dimitri_. "Princess Vasilisa." He says, bowing in a guardian fashion, in respect for the royal Moroi in front of him.

"Oh please Guardian Belikov, it's just Lissa." Lissa says, preferring her Americanized nickname rather than her royal name. Lissa glanced between me and Dimitri and caught on to the situation so she went inside our room leaving me and Dimitri alone in the hallway.

"Rose, can I talk to you privately?"

"Well we're already here and we're alone. Talk away Comrade." I reply coldly.

"There was another Strigoi attack." I was looking around but that certainly caught my attention. What?

"Where? Who was attacked? Are they going to do something about it? Why are we just standing here?" I hear a low chuckle emit from Dimitri, sending me chills throughout my whole body.

"My Roza, so young yet strong and brave." He said, smiling affectionately and stroking my cheek. I had planned to give him a cold shoulder but turns out my body had betrayed me, making me melt under his touch. "We haven't got information on where their hideout is, so it would be pointless to go out and seek them."

"Pointless? People are dy-"

"Rose." He said curtly.

"Sorry."

"It would be pointless to go out of the wards and just try to find them. Dhampir numbers have gone down low, it's too dangerous to risk the lives of valuable guardians." He explained. I sighed and remained quiet, looking down at my shoes. "What's wrong?" That took me by surprise, what's wrong? Is he seriously asking me that? He's been ignoring me and having a blast with Tasha. Hell, he's even been offered to be reassigned to a different Moroi! Despite all this, I just stayed quite and gave him a discrete answer.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me Roza, I know something's bothering you." He said, concern showing in his face as he took a step forward to examine my face.

"I don't know Dimitri." I hissed, "don't you have other things to be taking care of? Oh I don't know, your charge maybe? Or should I say soon-to-be charge?" I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest and huffing in distress.

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? _My charge_ is inside your room, probably sleeping. And what do you mean by 'soon-to-be-charge'?" Does he really want to play this game?

"Cut the crap _Belikov._"

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**AN: Reviews please! They are much appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Cut the crap _Belikov._" I hissed, gaining a surprised reaction from Dimitri which was soon covered with his guardian mask. "Why don't you just take care of Tasha since you're going to be her guardian and all…"

"Where did you hear that?"

"I have my sources." I said, saying I'd heard it from my mom sounded childish and less intimidating. "I mean, it's not that you haven't decided, right? It sounds like a hell of a good deal, seeing as she's going to give you fringe benefits. Just like you've always wanted. A family. It's like a package deal! You would be an idiot for not taking it…" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

He gave me a cold look. "What happens between her and me is none of your business," he replied crisply. His choice of words stung and for a moment, I froze. _Between her and me?_ It sounded like he and Tasha were a done deal. I was hurt, and like always, my temper and attitude took over my whole being.

"Well, I'm sure you guys will be happy together. You guys are just _oh so perfect_ for each other." I hissed, sarcasm coating every word. "Oh and she's just your type too! I know how much you like women who aren't your own age." I know it was a low blow but I was too hurt to realise what I was saying. "I mean she's what, six years older than you? Seven? Wow, I'm seven years younger than you."

"Yes. You are. And every second this conversation goes on, only proves how young you really are." Wow. That hurt. I don't think my mother punching my had hurt badly as what he said. My face must have shown my pain because for a second, I saw regret in his eyes, like he just realised just how harsh his words have been. But the moment passed, and just like that his guardian mask was still on.

"You know what-"

"Little dhampir," a voice suddenly said nearby. Only one person - one Moroi - calls me that. Must mean only one thing. Adrian.

I turned around to find Adrian grinning at me and giving a brief nod of acknowledgment to Dimitri. Shit, how much did Adrian hear? He held up his hands in a casual gesture. "I didn't mean to interrupt or anything. Just wanted to talk to you when you have time."

I wanted to tell Adrian to go away and that I didn't have time or any intention to play whatever sick game he was into now, but I was still hurt and frozen with what Dimitri had said. I looked at Dimitri who was looking at Adrian in a disapproving way. I guess he, like everyone else in this damn hotel, had heard about Adrian's bad reputation. _Great. _I suddenly wanted him to be jealous and to show him that I didn't need him and that I wasn't that little girl who needed him to mentor and look after her every minute of the day. I wanted to hurt him just as much as he'd hurt me.

I unearthed my man-eating smile, one I hadn't used to full effect since I had my eyes on a Russian God. I walked over to Adrian and put a hand on his arm, tracing a line along his arm. "Sure Ivashkov, I've got time." I gave a nod of my own to Dimitri and grabbed Adrian to steer him away, walking close to him. "See you later, _Guardian Belikov_." Dimitri's dark eyes followed us stonily and with that he walked away, my legs restricting themselves from kicking him from behind.

"Not into older guys, huh?"

"Clearly, my stunning beauty has clouded your mind, making you imagine things."

He laughed that nice and melodious laugh of his. "That's, without a doubt, possible. So, get Vasilisa and come with me. _We _are going to have some fun. You'll probably want a swimsuit too." I looked curiously at him and watch a sly grin sneak its way onto his face, "unless you want to naked. Which is, believe me, no problem at all."

"Really? A bunch of Moroi and dhampirs got killed and you want to go swimming and _have fun_?

"Killed? What are you talking about?" Shit, I don't think he's supposed to know about that. "Never mind, I don't want to know. It's not just swimming, come on. When was the last time Rose Hathaway let of some steam and just had fun?" I guess he was right…

"Fine, but if you want Lissa then we're going the wrong way. And you do know with inviting me and Lissa, you're practically inviting Christian, Mason and Eddie too?" He just shrugged and put his arm around me.

"I don't care who you bring as long as you come." He whispered into my ear, making goosebumps appear on my skin. "_I_ give you goosebumps." Adrian observed amused, with a proud grin on his face.

"Now I _know _you're just imagining things. I'm having goosebumps because it's cold."

"Then _let me_ warm you up." With that, Adrian wrapped me with his coat and put an arm around me, bringing me close to him and making me feel his warmth. Strange. Isn't he supposed to be the one who was always cold and me warm? Adrian and I went to my room that I shared with Lissa and I told Lissa everything. Adrian told me that he'll meet us there and finally went away.

"Adrian Ivashkov? Really? Rose I told you-"

"Yeah, yeah. Bad reputation. Bla bla bla. Lissa, we're just friends. He just invited us to swim."

"There's no just friends with Adrian."

"Well I'm different. Then again, haven't I always been different?"

We put on our bikinis on, and put on clothes on top of them, called the boys and decided to meet up with them there.

"So exactly what are doing?" Eddie asked, already having his swim trunks and a shirt on along with the other guys.

"I don't know Eddie, what do you usually do when you have swim trunks on?" I asked, irritated by his stupid question, probably because of Lissa's darkness.

"Let me rephrase that, why are we swimming?"

"Adrian invited us."

"Adrian Ivashkov?" I see Mason's jaw clench just from the corner of my eye and I give him a small smile while I see Lissa nod at Mason.

"Okay, let's go."

We were in a special spa area of the resort, one used only for the most elite Moroi. I don't think there any Dhampirs aside from us and some guardians on duty. Oh and some bloodwhores as well. _Great_. There were a bunch of royals who I assumed were Adrian's' friends. There were about forty others, all his age or older and bore the marks of wealth and elitism. The spa consisted of a series of hot mineral pools, next to racks of towels that lined the walls and tables full of exotic food. Steam filled the room, a faint metallic smell hung in the air, probably of blood and the sound of partygoers laughing and splashing echoed around us. We finally found a large pool at the end of the room, or should I say cave. It was empty and so there was plenty of room for everyone. I put a foot into the water, checking the temperature to find it warm. Lissa and I stripped out of my clothes, leaving us in our bikinis. I saw the boys gaping and Christian's hungry eyes taking in Lissa's appearance. Lissa giggled and kissed his cheek before stepping into the pool. I saw Mason and Eddie who had their eyes stuck on my body, I was pretty curvy, if I do say so myself. And I acquired muscles to tone my body because of the hard training Dimitri had me doing. I was wearing a maroon bikini, while Lissa was wearing a black bikini which contrasted with her pale white Moroi skin. I gave them my man-eating smile and inched my foot back in, followed by the rest of my body. They were soon out of their daze and followed Christian, Lissa and I into the pool.

"I thought you weren't close with Adrian." Mason said, disapproval hang in in his voice. I laughed at the thought of being 'close' to Adrian. The only thing that he wants with me is to have our bodies _close_ against each other.

"I'm not."

"You must know him a little. He did invite you, and us, to the party."

"Does it matter? Look around Mase, do you see him with us now? If we were close, why would he be there with those girls?" They all soon followed my gaze that stopped at Adrian. He stood on the other side of the room with a group of girls who had bikinis _much more_ smaller than mine. Much more smaller, as in practically nonexistent.

"So, Rose…" Mason started off, bringing me back to reality? I hummed an answer and saw the others talking about something else. "What did you and your mom talk about yesterday?"

"Training. My eye. The usual." I said, being as discrete as possible. I didn't like talking about my relationship with my mother, which was another thing that was nonexistent. Why bother pretending? Mason gave me an understanding nod and we tuned into the discussion the other's were having.

"My aunt and Dimitri. Eddie thinks they're sleeping together." Ouch. That hurt. I was not ready to hear that.

"And I said that he's being delusional. Guardian Belikov probably has guardian duties to attend to every night."

"Wouldn't stop them from doing anything." I winced, some part of me knew that this was a big possibility but I just hoped it wasn't true.

"Ten bucks say they're fucking." Eddie says.

"Dude! She's still my aunt!" Christian says, his face showing pure disgust. I hear Eddie and Mason chuckle as I see a waitress come with a tray of pink drinks. I had a strong suspicion that they were alcoholic drink. I didn't know what it was, as most of my alcoholic experiences only involved cheap beer. But I was having a rough night and hearing about the huge probability that Dimitri was already sleeping with Tasha definitely made it worse. I took a sip, cautiously at first but then I just drank the whole thing. I'm not a guardian yet, I don't have to be alert all the time. Besides if anything goes wrong, Mason and Eddie would be here and sober. I could just let loose and get drunk this one time. The drink turned out to taste like punch and wasn't strong enough for me. I asked her for something stronger and she obliged. I saw Lissa shoot a disapproving look and I knew she was feeling worried through the bond but I ignored her. Just tonight Liss. I need to let off some stress. If you knew you would let me off this once. Another waitress soon appeared with a tray of food. I eyed it and recognised almost nothing. I reached for one and before I took a bite, I showed it to Lissa and Christian hesitantly to find out what it is.

"It's foie gras." There was a sly smile on his face that was begging for me to punch.

"What in God's name is that?" I asked, tired of the fancy names used for simple things.

"Take a chance Hathaway! Find out yourself." I was about to take a bite when Lissa sighs in exasperation.

"It's goose liver." I jerked my hand back and the waitress tried to stifle a laugh, and handed me a bottle of vodka.

"Ugh, I hate rich people food." I said, chugging the vodka down my throat. I honestly didn't care how much it would cost, I could probably just tell them to charge it under Adrian's name. Hey, with what he's drinking, he wouldn't even know. I felt the vodka burn down my throat as I coughed. It didn't taste good but it sure did it's job. It made me numb, making the pain go away.

"Slow down Rose." Mason shouted, taking the bottle from my reach. I growled and pushed him down the water and grabbed the bottle back.

"Go away Ashford." I growled lowly, warning him of messing with me. Concern took over Lissa's face, _Rose are you okay?_ She thought through the bond. I forced a smile and nodded softly. _I know for whatever reason you're doing this that it's heavy on you but please make good decisions. I don't wanna see you get hurt. _I see Mason and Eddie looking at me and sighing.

"Fine, if you don't stop then share." Eddie said, grabbing the bottle and taking a swig from it. Mason looked at him, obviously shocked and smacked him from behind his head. "Dude, just because you're responsible enough not to drink and to look after us, doesn't mean I have to be." After a couple of more swigs, the bottle was empty so I went to the bar to get another one and hit someone and fell, thankfully into someone's arms.

"Watch where you're going." I slurred.

"Roza. What is the meaning of this? Are you drunk?" I hear a thick Russian accent say.

"Guardian Belikov! Join in the party! I'm just drinking away my feelings since you broke my heart! Congratulations! You can go fuck with Tasha all you want and not have to be discrete about it because I know! I know all about it! Now, if you'll excuse me I have a date with a bottle of vodka." I slurred, making my way up to the bar. I ordered another bottle and went back, to find Eddie laughing out loud to something Mason said.

"Mase, you're truly the funniest guy I know, did you know that? I don't understand why Rose," Eddie slurs looking back at me and throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me towards him. "doesn't want to go out with you! I mean you're practically in love with her for how many years? 3? Jesus, if I were you I would just ditch her and look for someone else. Even if Rose looks like a fucking goddess. No offence." Eddie confesses, a stupid grin plastered onto his face. Mason? In love with me? Yeah right. I know he has some school boy crush on me but I'm pretty sure he doesn't love me. Eddie's out of his mind. Probably drunk off his ass.

"You're absolutely crazy, you know that?" Mason said to Eddie, confirming my thoughts. No way was he in love with me. Eddie just shrugs and throws an arm around me, making me snuggle into him more.

"Little dhampir! Seems like your friend Mia was right. You do have a lot of 'boy friends'!" I hear Adrian say suggestively. Is he saying I'm some kind of slut?

"Mia is not my friend, and kinda ironic for you to say that, since you were all over those girls with nonexistent bikinis back there." I said, probably a bit too loud.

"Jealous much?"

"In your dreams Ivashkov, why would I be jealous over you when I have Eddie over here?" I say, tracing my finger under Eddie's jaw which earns a silly smile and a purr? Hell, I didn't even know if it was that or if I was just imagining things.

"I'm surprised to see _you_ okay with _this_ Ashford." Adrian says to Mason before joining us.

"Oh yeah Adrian, sure. You're very welcomed to join us." I say in a sarcastic tone, to which Adrian chuckles.

"Feisty. I like you little dhampir. A lot. The feisty ones are usually the best in bed." He says, waggling his eyebrows shooting me a grin. I hear Eddie and Mason growl, warning him not to do anything stupid and Christian and Lissa scoffing in disgust. Eddie brought me closer to him and put me on his lap protectively. "Come on, little dhampir. I want to meet someone." He said, getting out of the pool and extending a hand towards me.

"And why the hell would I go with you?"

"Because this might influence your future." He said mysteriously, furthering his hand towards my reach. I debated over myself in my hand and felt Eddie's warm breath on my neck.

"Don't listen to him. Stay with us. He's nothing but trouble." Eddie half-whispers and kisses my cheek. Hey, we're drunk. Don't judge. I turned to face him and kiss him on the nose and giggle.

"I'm a big girl. I can defend myself, even when I'm drunk." I slur, getting off his lap and taking Adrian's hand. I felt a jolt of electricity when I touched Adrian so I took my hand from him a followed him.

"So, who am I meeting?" I asked curiously, I hated being kept in the dark like Dimitri so often did with me.

"No one."

"What? What do you mean no one? You said…"

"I was joking? How else would I get you to come with me willingly?" I groaned and felt his hand tug on mine, pulling me into a room, secluded from everyone else. "So, what's the deal between you and big old Russian man?" Fuck. Okay, keep your cool.

"Nothing? What do you-?"

"Save it, I know you guys had - or have a thing. If you tell me then I won't ask or repeat this conversation to anyone else." Adrian said, taking a seat on the bed in the room. Shit. I have to come clean.

I took a seat on the foot of the bed, next to him, leaving a gap between us. I told him all about Victor's lust charm and me and Dimitri.

"I'm not sure if we have - or had a thing. Yeah, we kissed and all but it's like a game. One time he's hot then the next he's cold. He never makes up his mind. It's just frustrating you know? And now I hear he's going to get reassigned to some other Moroi who's his close friends. And they're going to be friends with benefits." I explained with a sigh, I felt a tug in my heart and my chest tightened. I was holding back tears but with a soft sigh, they were escaped. Adrian looked at me with pity and, surprisingly, hugged me.

"Hey, it's okay little dhampir. He's stupid for not looking at what's in front of him. But hey, I feel bad for you and all but that just gives me a bigger opportunity with you." He whispers alluringly into my ear, causing me to shiver.

"Oh hell no, Ivashkov. I will shove my foot up your ass if you try to take advantage of me." I say sternly, pulling myself back from his embrace.

"Never even thought of it." Adrian says with a cheeky grin. I groaned and punched his shoulder playfully.

"All jokes aside, I meant what I said. He's stupid for letting you go. I would never give up on you like that, I would fight for you and show you how much you mean to me. I mean, why would he let someone as feisty and sexy as you go? Feisty, sexy and damn beautiful…"

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**AN: Okay, so I'm not sure if you guys want me to continue or not so I'm kind of confused and self-conscious of this story, in a way. So review for another chapter! I'll be waiting for at least 5 reviews before updating! Adrian will be waiting! **


	4. Chapter 4

"All jokes aside, I meant what I said. He's stupid for letting you go. I would never give up on you like that, I would fight for you and show you how much you mean to me. I mean, why would he let someone as feisty and sexy as you go? Feisty, sexy and damn beautiful…"

He said, putting my hair back behind my ear. I looked into his emerald green eyes that were so damn mesmerising and saw his lip that were just begging for me to kiss. Wait? Kiss? What the hell am I thinking? I bit my lip in hesitation, with my gaze still locked on his alluring green eyes. What about Mason? Dimitri? Ah fuck it. Without another moment to hesitate, I brought us together and connected my lips with his. A jolt of electricity coursed through my body and I snaked my arms around his neck and his slid around my waist. My fingers played with the hair on the back of his head and I moaned into the kiss. He grazed his tongue on my bottom lip and I opened my mouth welcomely and his tongue explored my mouth and fought with my tongue for dominance. The kiss was getting heavy and I laid back with him on top of me, my fingers still playing with his hair whilst he started peppering my neck with kisses. I moaned when he bit and nibbled the skin on my neck, careful not to let his fangs graze the skin, and suddenly someone knocked the door. Shit. I stood up, leaving Adrian on the bed to open the door to find a waitress.

"Oh, sorry. I was looking for someone." I nodded and grabbed Adrian to go out and get back to Lissa. I can't believe what I just did. I just made out with Adrian fucking Ivashkov. Also known as, the royal womaniser. Ah, I'm in a lot of shit now. I saw my friends still talking in the pool and Mason looked up at me with a curious look that I just ignored. I sat next to Adrian who was surprisingly quiet. Just as I was about to ask him what was wrong, he pulled me onto his lap and started kissing on my neck. I grabbed his thigh, making sure my nails dug into his skin, which caused him to wince and whispered in his ear. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Just as he was about to reply, Mason pulled me out of the pool with a drunk Eddie on his side and Christian and Lissa behind us.

"We're going. Say goodbye to your friend Rose." Mason said angrily, nodding towards Adrian.

"Hm? Oh, bye." I said, not caring and still a bit mad at Adrian. Then again it's my fault that I kissed him. I kissed him. Oh fuck my life.

"Bye little dhampir. See you in my dreams…" He slurs, with a lazy grin on his face. I groaned, not wanting to think of any sexual fantasies he might dream of me tonight. I'm suddenly brought back to reality when I trip on the stairs. I must be more drunk than I thought. Mason takes me off my feet and carries me bridal style, leaving Christian to help Eddie walk. I giggle when I see Christian having difficulties but only find Christian shooting me a cold glare which I laugh more loudly at. I closed my eyes for a bit and find Mason dropping me unceremoniously on his bed and see Christian dropping Eddie on Eddie's bed a few inches from mine. I looked around and noticed that this wasn't my room.

"Wait why am I in Mason and Eddie's room?"

"Figured it would be easier to have you hear since it's closer and _I'll_ get to keep and eye on _you_ so that you don't do anymore _stupid_ things." Mason says sternly, glaring at me.

"And besides, _I_ wouldn't mind sharing a night with my girlfriend." I hear Christian say, smirking at Lissa.

"Ew, stop. I don't need to know about what you guys do on Lissa and my bed when I'm not there." I hear Christian laugh darkly before leaving with Lissa to go to my room that I share with her.

"Here, use my shirt and boxers. I don't think you would want to sleep in your bikini." He says shortly, throwing me his clothes.

"Thanks. Wait Mase. If I'm sleeping here, then where will you sleep?" I ask him, looking at Eddie who's already passed out on his bed.

"I don't know. Probably on the floor." I frown thinking that he'll have to sleep on the ground just because of me.

"No, I'll sleep on the ground. It's your bed, you sleep here." I argued, tugging on his arm. He rolled his eyes and looked at me sternly.

"No Rose, it's okay. You sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the floor."

"Mason, as much as I love sleep. And you know I do. I don't want to be the reason you sleep on the floor and get your back fucked up. Now stop being stubborn and sleep on your damn bed." I say, huffing and crossing my arms in front of my chest, glaring at him.

"I have many reasons for doing what I do Rosie, now why don't you just fucking sleep and stop being so damn stubborn." He hisses. I pout and growl.

"Mason Ashford. I will not fucking sleep if you sleep on the fucking floor." I say, not caring if I cussed.

"Fine, I'll sleep with Eddie then. Happy?" I looked over at Eddie who was sprawled out on his bed.

"You'll never fit with him. Just sleep with me. Come on. We'll both fit on your bed." I say, moving to the far right side to leave him some space.

"Fine. God must you be such a bitch?" He hisses, getting under the covers with me. Ouch. That hurts, even from Mason.

"You don't mean that." I say, pouting and looking at him. He sighs in frustration and puts his hand through his hair.

"I know, it's just… you make it impossible for me to not be mad at you. First you kiss Eddie back then you sit on his lap and then the next thing I know you're going with Ivashkov doing God knows what!" He says angrily, I feel him clench his fist and the bed slightly shift.

"Mason…" I say, putting my hand through his hair.

"Sometimes you just make it so hard…" He mutters.

"So hard to what?" I ask, stopping from playing with the hairs behind his head.

"Nothing, never mind. Let's just get some sleep okay?" He says, forcing himself to smile at me, even though I see his eyes still empty and sad.

"Forgive me?" I ask him nicely, pouting and pushing myself to get closer to him so that we're chest to chest. "I was drunk, well I'm still kinda drunk. But point is I was acting stupidly and I'm sorry." I say, trying to reason with him. He sighs and smiles fondly towards me, affection clear in his eyes.

"Okay, you're forgiven. He says, kissing my forehead and smelling my hair. My hands snake around his neck and his arm grips around my waist protectively and I snuggle up to him and is welcomed by the darkness, to find myself face to face with… fucking Adrian Ivashkov.

"Hey there little dhampir."

"What are you doing in my dream? Go away, I don't want you here."

"Ouch, that hurt little dhampir. And you are in _my_ dream." He says, putting his hand over his heart and pouting.

"What do you mean in your dream?"

"I can dream-walk. It's sort of a gift that I have. I concentrate on someone and can take them into my dream." Wow, that's unique. Almost as unique as Lissa's ability to heal and bring people back form the brink of death. "I also get to choose where we are and what we wear if I want to." Shit, that means he can also make my clothes vanish.

"I know what you're thinking. No, I won't make you get naked…" I sigh in relief and check what I was wearing and find that I'm wearing the bikini from tonight. "Well, unless you want me to…" Adrian suggested, raising one eyebrow like Dimitri had done countless times but I did not have the ability to do.

"In your dreams Ivashkov!" I shout, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

"But we are in my dream…" He says with a sly smirk on his face. I groan and roll my eyes at his childish behaviour. Perverted asshole.

"Ugh can you leave me alone Ivashkov? I need to sleep." I ruffle my hair, agitated that he wouldn't leave me alone.

"But you are asleep!"

"Not how I want to be…" I mutter under my breath. I sit down on the warm sand and Adrian follows me, sitting cross-legged in front of me.

"So, what were you doing on Eddie's lap when I saw you?" He starts off, frowning for a while. I look up to him with an amused look and he turns and hides his frown with an insincere smile.

"Why? Jealous?" I taunt, laughing at his face while nudging his shoulder with mine. He laughs and looks at me with his emerald green eyes of his, practically hypnotising me.

"Hm…" He starts off, thinking of an answer. "Yeah, I guess so." He says, pouting at me. Yeah right. Adrian Ivashkov. Got jealous because of a Dhampir like me. Pfft. "Why weren't you with Lissa anyway?"

"Because she was with _her_ boyfriend." I groan and look over to study him.

"What's with the tone? Jealous?"

"Ew. God, no! I just don't like him. He irritates me so much."

"Why? Does he come up with wittier lines than you do?" He mused. I hit his chest and frown. No he doesn't. Christian has a brain the size of a bird's as far as I'm concerned. "Joking, joking. You know I love your witty lines. They're one of the things that make you so feisty and hot." He says, biting his lip while checking me out. I resist the urge to hurl and groan instead.

"Why do you keep asking about Lissa? Are you interested in her?" I asked him curiously. He's been asking about her since the day we met. Why?

"Relax, I am in no way interested in her in the same way that I am in you. Don't worry, my eyes are only on you." I roll my eyes and ignore his comment.

"But you are interested."

"I just want to talk to her and ask her some questions."

"What sorts? Don't go playing with her head, or her heart. She has Pyro and she doesn't need someone using her as a fling." I warned him sternly, using a tone a mother would to her child.

"Down little dhampir, I told you already. My eyes are only on you. You're the only one I'm interested in…" He trails off, kissing me. My eyes widen with shock and I push him back and stand up. I back away from him and wipe my lips, what the hell was he thinking?

"What the hell are you doing? Look, I know I kissed you and all but that was a mistake. I was drunk. I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything. I am not interested okay?" I told him, watching him stand up and walk over to me.

"That's not what I saw and _felt_. You can't lie to me, little dhampir. I saw your aura when we made out and when I kissed you just now. I know you're just as interested as I am."

"What the hell are you talking about? Rest assured, I'm not interested in playing your little games."

"I see auras too, little dhampir. _Gifts_ remember? Just like my ability to dream walk." He says, striding over next to me. He pushes my hair back off my shoulder and leans in. "And I know how turned on you were when we made out. Moan or no moan. Couldn't you feel the electricity coursing through your whole body? I know I did." He whispered seductively and chuckled when he saw my goosebumps appear. "You're waking up. I'll see you later little dhampir." Yeah right.

"Roooseeee" Mason cooed to me, stroking my hair gently. Ugh, my head is hurting like fuck. Great, I have a massive hangover and Mason won't let me sleep in. I groaned and snuggled back under the covers and shut my eyes tighter in an attempt to go back to sleep. One that does not include Adrian. "Come on, you already missed breakfast and we're getting waffles! I know how much you like waffles…" Mason taunted, shaking my shoulders to wake me up. I groaned and pushed him off of the bed and next thing I knew, the covers were yanked off of me and I shot up.

"Ugh, give it back! 5 more minutes!" I groaned, throwing him my pillow.

"Come on, we're getting waffles! Do you really wanna miss out on that?" I thought about it for a few minutes in my head and stood up and stretched. My stomach suddenly growled and I bolted to the bathroom and threw up. Mason was by my side in a second and held my hair so that I wouldn't have thrown up on it.

"Ugh, don't even mention food now." I said, taking the aspirin from Mason. I take the tablet and drink some water from Mason. "God, why did I drink so much yesterday?" Mason laughs and sets me down on his bed after I tumble a bit. I laid down next to Mason, him stroking my hair while I trace patterns on his arm. "You better have ice-cream to go with that, Ashford." I warn him, poking his chest with my finger. I hear him chuckle and put his pillow and bedsheets back on his bed again.

"Only you could eat ice-cream while it's freezing cold like this." I shrugged, hey what can I say? I love food.

AN: Thanks for the reviews! I loved them and they motivate me to write more! 15 reviews for an update and more Adrian!


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